Charted: Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian merger flies through DOJ review

Hawaiian Airlines investors breathed a sigh of relief today after the DOJ signaled it won't try to block the company's sale to Alaska Airlines.

Driving the news: The Biden administration's window to investigate the deal expired, Hawaiian Airlines announced today.

• "This is a significant milestone in the process to join our airlines," the company said in a statement.

The big picture: U.S. airline carriers have steadily consolidated over the years amid cutthroat competition and price wars, rivalries that only intensified in the post-pandemic travel boom, Axios Pro's Michael Flaherty reported when the deal was announced in December.

💭 Nathan's thought bubble: It probably didn't hurt that Hawai'i Gov. Josh Green, a Democrat, endorsed the deal.